What is ‘Triangle of Sadness’? Everything You Need to Know About The Surprise Oscar Nominee
Image Source: Amazon
We are in the midst of award season, and the Oscar nominations were just released. While the comedy-drama Everything, Everywhere All at Once took home a stunning 11 nominations and the German anti-war film All Quiet on the Western Front achieved nine, Swedish director Ruben Östlund could celebrate three nominations for his first complete English-spoken film Triangle of Sadness: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Here is everything you need to know about Triangle of Sadness:
The title refers to a term from plastic surgery, meaning the nasty wrinkles between the eyes, which botox can smooth in just 15 minutes to bring back a young and immaculate face.
RELATED:
At the same time, this term is also characteristic of the tone of the movie (or at least the first two-thirds): The couple Carl (played by Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean, who tragically died in August 2022, shortly before the release of the film in cinemas) are both models, but while Carl’s star is already sinking, Yaya has gained a reputation as a significant influencer. The two are invited to a cruise on a luxury yacht together with a group of other super-riches. On board, the guests make fun of the crew, ridiculing and demeaning them.
While the ship’s captain Thomas Smith (Woody Harrelson), is pretty drunk, the yacht passes through a storm, taking heavy damage and causing panic among the illustrious travelers. When pirates attack the ship, only a few guests can escape to a (seemingly) deserted island. There the cleaner Abigail (Dolly de Leon) soon takes command as she is the only one who can keep the decadent group alive by cooking and sheltering them. Tables have turned as everyone tries to please Abigail to stay in her favor and get a little extra food. But things threaten to shift again when it turns out that the island, in fact, isn’t that deserted.
Ruben Östlund won the Palme d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival for Triangle of Sadness, which he has already achieved for his previous film, The Square, in 2017. Furthermore, it won four European Film Awards and six Guldbagge Awards in Sweden and is nominated for more than a dozen other prizes besides the Oscars.
The film, which is divided into three chapters (‘Carl and Yaya,’ ‘The Yacht’ and ‘The Island’), is R-rated and includes several scenes which might not be suitable for people with a weak stomach, so it is probably best to not have an extensive meal before watching it.
After its premiere in Cannes in May 2022, Triangle of Sadness was shown at several other film festivals worldwide before hitting cinemas in October of last year. So far, it has earned $22 million globally, but this number will surely rise due to the Oscar hype.
Östlund’s next film, called The Entertainment System is Down, takes place on a long-haul flight when online entertainment suddenly breaks down, and those addicted to scrolling through their smartphones and tablets have to face the horrors of having to deal with other people in real life.
Triangle of Sadness is still being shown in a few selected theatres and is currently unavailable for streaming, but it can be rented and bought on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+.
READ NEXT:
Latest News
Featured
